wind energy

When it comes to home improvement, many people just like to think of remodeling rooms, painting the walls, redoing the floors, explaining an existing space, and the like. They also tend to think about their pipes, air conditioners, heaters, etc. What many are starting to consider now is going green with their home improvements. Solar energy in particular can give the owner a better return on their investment quickly. Here are some benefits to adding solar energy as a home improvement.

Benefits Of Solar Energy

Solar energy is able to get the homeowner a much higher resale value than standard non-green energy. In fact, it can cause the value to rise between 87% and 157%! That’s a huge difference in what you would get without this energy improvement. The values will also rise as energy costs rise making you even more money in the long run if you time your selling right. It also is has a much better chance of paying the original homeowner up to 100% of their initial investment for it. That means that it literally pays for itself!

Recently, mortgage companies and banks have said that adding solar energy as a home improvement actually greatly raises the property value. Think about it. It is decreases utility costs, which makes the property worth more to potential buyers. For many people, the idea of saving on energy in a world that is plagued with ever-rising energy costs is worth so much more than the more expensive cost of an energy efficient home. It is worth it to many buyers, which is why they will pay top dollar for many homes with this kind of home addition. Generally, this value fluctuates, but the home value can rise by up to $20,000 for every $1000 saved on energy in a given year. Now that’s how you save and earn!

As previously said, homebuyers will pay more for home that have solar energy. They also tend to sell faster than homes without it. Nearly everyone is susceptible to the allure of having a home that is designed to save energy and money. Energy costs rise every year making traditional electricity harder to keep up with. An “out” is going with an alternative energy like solar energy so that the home can still function, but without the owner going bankrupt over it. In fact, it’s just the opposite; the homeowner can even gain energy credits from having an energy efficient home in some states if the energy system was turned over to them in the sale. Due to these perks, traditional electric home sales are being outsold by those that have solar panels, water reclamation systems, and geothermal cooling and heating.

While many standard home improvements can up your property’s value, none of them compare to all of the benefits of solar energy. To cut your energy costs, have a system give you back nearly 100% on your investment, and up the value of your property when you decide to sell, try adding a solar energy system to your home.

It’s no secret that greenhouse gases are affecting the climate and that high rates of fossil fuel consumption are quickly depleting these non-renewable resources. Without a shift in how we produce energy, we will soon be facing an energy crisis of enormous proportions. What makes green energy so great is the abundant supplies – such as wind, water, and sunlight – can be used to produce energy that is clean and efficient.

Until changes are made on a global scale, it is up to individuals, or small communities, to change their primary sources of energy one at a time. With the many different sources of green, renewable energy available, you are in a position to make changes that will benefit the planet. Let’s look at some of the reasons why green energy is the best energy source.

The Details

It’s Clean. Green energy doesn’t cause the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It also doesn’t cause harm to the environment like fossil fuels can, such as in the case of an oil spill.

It’s Renewable. There are a limited number of fossil fuels on the planet, and supplies of coal, gas, and oil are diminishing, which means that they will eventually run out. Green sources of energy renew themselves, so they will always be available.

It’s Safe. Green energy is safe for those who build and maintain the energy source and who consume it. This is not the case for other sources of energy, including nuclear power and fossil fuels.

It’s Widely Available. Sources of green energy are available worldwide and at high levels, which eliminates costs associated with transmitting the sources of energy to distant locations.

It Reduces Global Conflict. When one country has a fossil fuel that others don’t have, conflicts arise. Those without have to try to negotiate deals with those who do have the raw materials. Renewable energy sources are unlimited, and everyone has access to a natural source.

It’s Independent. Once you have an established system for producing energy from a renewable source, you are not dependent on a company to provide you with energy.

It’s Economically Certain. The costs associated with fossil fuels are volatile. Costs associated with green energy are minimal, which keeps the budget steady.

It’s Eco-Friendly. With green energy, like turbines that generate energy from tides, the fragile ecosystems of the oceans aren’t negatively affected.

It Supports Communities. Green energy is not limited to individual households. Entire communities can be run from solar power.

It Taps Natural Resources. With a little more than 70% of the planet covered by water, it makes sense to use it as a source of energy, such as with hydroelectricity.

The Bottom Line

Green energy is the better energy source because it offers numerous benefits for you and for the environment. It is renewable, and once you are set up your system, you have a constant source of energy that will not be depleted and is not subject to interruption. What makes green energy so great is it is also cost effective, and supply and demand do not affect pricing. With sources of clean, renewable energy, the ecosystems of the planet are not being destroyed, and limited resources are not being used up. With green energy, you and the rest of the planet benefit, so you can consume energy guilt-free.

Solar energy is one of the largest growing industries, counting the building of solar energy plants, purchase of solar panels for use in homes, and smaller solar devices that are used to charge devices. Adopting the use of solar energy can be done on a small scale, such as using it to help heat your home, or on a larger scale, by switching your power solely to solar energy. There are many uses for solar energy so you can start with just one or go for them all.

13 Uses for Solar Energy

Details

Solar energy can be used to power fans throughout your home; you’ll save on cooling costs because you won’t need to run the air conditioner as much, and the solar energy is totally free.

Keep your pool warm. So that your pool will be ready on the first warm day, use a solar blanket to cover the water, and leave the cover on when the pool is not in use so the water stays warm.

Heat your pool water. Install solar panels on your roof to heat the water for your pool. A pump can be used to circulate the warmed water into your pool.

Heat your hot water. Get rid of your inefficient electric or gas water heater, and replace it with a solar heating system. A generator or battery is used to store energy so that you’ll still have hot water even when the sun is not out.

Heat a sun room. With two or three all-glass walls and solar panels on one room, you eliminate the need for any external heat. The addition of plants and ornamental rocks or stones will help by storing the warmth of the sun.

Hot water heating for your house. Using solar energy that works through water baseboard heating, you can provide heat for your home. The water is warmed using solar tubes and then circulated through the baseboards using a solar-powered pump with a battery backup.

Heat pump. Rather than using oil or gas for heat, you can use solar power to provide energy for a heat pump that will circulate warm air throughout your home.

Power your home. Using solar panels and a system for converting the sun’s energy into electricity, you can provide power for your home. You can use a battery or generator backup.

Cooking. With a few supplies and some ingenuity, you can design a solar-powered oven and stove top that you can use to cook with on sunny days.

Charging batteries. A solar energy device can be used to charge DC batteries, and those batteries can be used to power any number of appliances in your home.

Charge cell phones. Sunlight is converted into energy and stored in a battery in devices designed to charge cell phones; charging takes a while, but you can charge your phone for free every day because you are not using electricity supplied by a power grid.

Charge laptops and tablets. Similar to the cell phone chargers but larger, charging stations use solar power to generate electricity and recharge the batteries on your laptop, tablet, etc.

Security lighting. Solar-powered lights can be set up around the perimeters of your home or your yard to provide light at night and keep areas of your home more secure.

The Bottom Line

Solar energy and wind already has many uses, and more are being created each year. While many locales do not yet offer solar power, the power grid in some communities is often supplemented by solar energy, and you have the option of installing your own solar source to suit a number of purposes. Whether used to provide lighting outside your home at night or to heat your hot water, solar energy is clean and efficient, and it reduces your utility costs.

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